DA to revive Trade Remedies Office

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is reconvening the Trade Remedies Office (TRO) to better address complicated cases while ensuring fair trade practices.

The agency intends to run the TRO as “a specialized and dedicated office” to comply with the legal and administrative requirements and enhance its capacity to address trade remedy matters.

Trade remedies are various measures aimed at ensuring fair competition and protecting domestic industries from unfair trade practices.

According to the DA’s Department Order No. 19, the existing unit “has integrated it into the broader organizational framework, which has resulted in challenges related to its effectiveness and efficiency in handling complex trade remedy cases.”

“The department recognizes the importance of safeguarding the agricultural and fishery sector from unfair trade practices and import surges that adversely affect local producers and stakeholders,” it added.

The office, which will become an ad hoc unit under the supervision of the DA Policy Research Service, will handle matters on enforcing trade remedy laws for agricultural products in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry and other relevant stakeholders.

These include accepting, reviewing and evaluating trade remedy cases, as well as collecting, consolidating, processing, analyzing and verifying data and information.

It will also be tasked to investigate, enforce, review, monitor and assess trade remedy cases and corresponding measures taken.

The office will “serve as the DA central data and information repository of local and international trade statistics and trade remedies, supply and demand, production and prices, industry profiles, market studies, and similar data and information sources, for the efficient and effective implementation of trade remedies,” the order states.

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While waiting for the Department of Budget and Management’s approval to create an organic division within the DA, the office will be composed of the following: trade remedies data management, research, and advocacy section; trade remedies investigation, enforcement, and monitoring and evaluation section; and trade remedies fund management and administrative support section.

The DA, the DTI and the Tariff Commission are mandated to ensure the effective implementation of trade remedy laws by creating a special unit within their respective offices.

The government has enacted different laws to safeguard local industries from unfair trade practices and import surges.

These are Republic Act (RA) No. 8751 (Countervailing Act of 1999), RA No. 8752 (Anti-Dumping Act of 1999) and RA No. 8752 (Anti-Dumping Act of 1999).